Do you happen to know where I could find a complete loco roster for the southern railway from the 40s-early 80s? I model n scale and have a couple of undecs that need painting. Also, to be more specific, did the southern railway ever have an RS1?

Thanks, Joel Shelton Marion, NC and Ft Lauderdale, FL

-- Joel Shelton (brianajoel@mindspring.com), May 19, 1999

Answers

Paul K. Wither's excellent book, "Diesels of the Southern Railway 1939-1982 contains a complete roster of all diesels operated by the Southern during that time period as well as excellent photos of many locomotives. To answer your question about the RS-1, the Southern ownwed seven of them, numbered 1-6 and 405. 1-5 were aquired between 1955 and 1956 when the Southern took over the Tennessee Railroad Company. The 6 was aquired in July of '63 through Birmingham Rail and Locomotive. Finally, the 405 joined the roster when the Atlantic and East Carolina was absorbed in 1957. All of the locomotives had a long history before joining the Southern and this history is covered in Wither's book. Start painting!

-- Joe Daniels (4JM@home.com), May 19, 1999.

Nos. 1-6 are not a good choice for RS-1's. The dates of acquisition given in the previous response are the dates that the Tennessee Railroad acquired them. The Southern did not take over the Tennessee Railroad until 1973 and the units were retired the same year.

-- Jack Wyatt (cjwyatt@wavegate.com), May 19, 1999.